Misty's Story
by N-I-N-T
Summary: When a small oversight with gym funding lands Misty in a tight situation, she and her sister, Daisy, begin a pokemon journey to set matters straight. Alongside Ash and Gary, Misty begins the adventure of a life time in search of a new legendary pokemon, and half a million dollars.


_**(Revised and edited. 2018-08-13)**_

 **Pairing:** Partial egoshipping, eventual pokeshipping, handymanshipping, rocketshipping, and mentions of others.

 **Genre:** Romance/Drama

 **Sub-genre:** Humor/Adventure

 **Rating:** T

 **Summary:** When a small oversight with gym funding lands Misty in a tight situation, she and her sister, Daisy, begin a pokemon journey to set matters straight. Alongside Ash and Gary, Misty begins the adventure of a life time in search of a new legendary pokemon, and half a million dollars.

 **Misty's Story, Chapter 1** :

Someday, Ash was going to win a league. _He just knew it_.

Unfortunately, the Kalos region wasn't the break that he needed. Worst of all, he finished as runner-up. Of course, most people, even his companions, considered second-place to be a great success... but for Ash Ketchum, who spent the last five regions losing, second-place wasn't the title he was hoping for. However, he didn't have the time to grieve, since Team Flare decided to attack the league. Luckily with the help of all the gym leaders and Alain, they managed to thwart their efforts, and save Kalos.

Ash should have been proud, maybe even happy—and yet his shoulders were still curled and his lips in a frown.

Since Kalos was so far away from the rest of the regions, the next league wasn't ready to start for a few months, which freed Ash's schedule immensely for the first time years. Usually, he had some battle frontier or minor league to take on, but having been at this for eight years, he was beginning to run out of leagues to enter, and quickly outgrowing the rest of the competition. It was not uncommon that people in Ash's age group moved into the next-tier battling... only, most of those people had actually _won_ a championship title or two.

Sighing mostly to himself, Ash rubbed his neck.

For the first time in years, he wasn't going to be on the road. He had no destination, and the feeling in his chest _sucked._ He hated not having an immediate goal. No mountain to climb or reason to train. Repeating old leagues seemed _silly_ , but entering top-level tournaments without proper experience seemed even more ridiculous.

His thoughts were drawn to a close when the plane'd draw bridge ported, and he was ready to exit his plane.

Whatever is plans were, he was destined to figure it out.

Kanto was like no other place in the world. A musty, forest and ocean odor blended into a perfect mixture of tropical scents and flowers. Being located south of the equator, the climate was typically hot, ranging on humid, and it almost _never_ snowed. However, what Ash Ketchum missed most about the southern region was the simplicity. The old, rustic buildings separated by large, branching trees and winding dirt roads, and the small mail boxes that rested at each street corner. Picket fences, fresh vegetables, damp grass, the stars alive above him—he missed it all.

Ash found it difficult _not_ to smile. Where Kalos was large, with massive technological advances, pretty girls, fancy clothes, decorative malls and streets; Kanto was plain, _like him_. Sure, he spent a year in the regal region, _even_ helped save it from Team Flare, but nothing compared to home; to his roots. This, somewhere long, long ago, was where it all began for a ten year old boy.

Stepping off the ramp connected to the airport terminal, Ash brushed his hands against his worn jeans, and brushed his palm over pikachu's head in reassurance. They were home, and were staying, _at least_ until his bruised ego healed.

All at once, the familiarity of the Viridian City airport filled his senses and the young trainer relaxed, easing into a joyful stride with nothing more than a backpack on his shoulders, and a scratched cap. Unlike other passengers, Ash never carried more than the clothes on his back and what he needed to survive on a long journey. His trip to Kalos was no different, his companions funded the majority of his leisure items, and while he enjoyed the tents, and hot meals, and other miscellaneous _sciences_ he was welcome to, nothing was better than the outdoors, sunshine, and the feeling of hard work decorating eighteen years of labor.

 _Yep_ , this was the life. _Good ol' Kanto._

As he looked out, staring into the bright area, he let out a very loud sigh and blinked. _Or maybe_ , he was just pretending he wasn't as worn out as he really was. He had no idea where to go from here, and the mere _idea_ ofpicking up and heading off into the next league after coming so close to winning was physically painful. Ash's smile wavered only momentarily, before he forced the curl upwards once again with a strong inhale.

Maybe he would go back to school? Or take a few days off?

"Are you ready to see mom, pikachu?" asked Ash, trying to keep his mind off the previous battle.

His voice was as scratchy as ever, but much deeper. His shoulders broader, arms lanky but muscular, and hair grown out, almost touching his shoulders. He stood at an impressive 5'9" and whether it was true or not, was _still growing._ The mouse parading on his shoulder sparked small electricity of glee while Ash grinned.

"Alright, then let's get going!" He cheered, pumping a fist excitedly into the air before jumping forward, landing hard against the waxed, tile floors.

The problem with smaller airports, was that the chances of running into old friends was impressively high. No sooner than his foot hit the floor, did the familiar scent of chlorine and wild berries flutter against his nostrils in passing, freezing him on the spot. Flashes of red hair, a yellow hoodie and blue jeans raced before him and he nearly spun.

He knew the scent; it was hard to forget three years of his life. When Pikachu recognized the same scent, the mouse pranced away from his trainer, and scampered down the isle.

"Pikachu-pi!"

Before he knew it, he was in an all-out sprint, trying to keep up with the mouse.

"Pikachu stop running!"

 **XOX**

The airport was noisy and far busier than Misty Waterflower remembered. When the Viridian City Airport was originally built, five years ago, it was more of a hub. Now, it provided the majority of the flights departing from Kanto, and arriving from other regions. Misty figured with the massive forest bordering the city, that Viridian City's airport would be unpopular, but the size was massive compared to its initial creation. Actually, maybe the building was a _tad_ too small, because people ran into her with every step as she made her way to to the rail, over looking the terminal gates where her sisters, Lily and Violet were bordering a plane in the distance. Misty wasn't entirely sure that her sisters could see her, but she waved hopefully, and perhaps thinking the same as her, Lily and Violet waved back, appearing more enthusiastic than the redhead they left behind.

Parting ways with her sisters grew harder over the years, especially after growing accustomed to their presence in her life. Once upon a time, they spent every waking hour away from her, but now watching the two women leave for regions far, far away, left an ache in her heart.

Sighing, Misty slumped over the railing, wishing that she was the one lucky enough to be traveling over seas to unexplored regions—however, her agenda had other ideas-

"Well, hopefully they are, like, successful."

 _Which came in the form of a blonde woman with a valley-girl accent._ Misty tried to resist the groan in the back of her throat as she faced the voice over her shoulder. Skin crawling, she faced her oldest sister with the hope that the boisterous blonde woman wouldn't be standing there when she turned around.

Unfortunately, the eldest Waterflower, Daisy, was still standing, wearing her red summer dress, blue-jean jacket and black tights. Her blonde hair was tied back into a very rare pony tail but her bangs still hung down and framed her 'beautiful' face. Misty always thought Daisy was the _prettiest_ of her three older sisters—Daisy was everyone's idea of beauty, and while over the years, Misty had come to terms with that, right now, she mostly just felt anger.

"Yeah, well, let's hope that they can do _something."_ Replied a scorned Misty as she kicked off the railing.

Stuffing her hands into her loose-fitted jean pockets, she walked towards the exit of the airport terminal. Daisy scoffed behind her as she followed.

"Like, it'll all work out baby sis. We have goals now. Lily and Violet are gonna get some of their investments back, and talk to a few people that owe them money..." Daisy's valley girl accent followed Misty like a plague, to which Misty blew a strand of long hair from her face and exhaled loudly.

Daisy just went on and on and on until the redhead firmly interrupted her.

"Goals?" Misty echoed. "I certainly hope so, because at least their ideas might actually provide revenue. Us?" Misty used her fingers to elaborate. "We haven't got a penny to us—our 'goals' consist of unqualified work with _Gary Oak_ , and hoping to earn the money on the road!"

Daisy sighed as they shuffled around a few mindless travelers.

"Oh, c'mon. Be a bit more positive, would you?"

Rolling her eyes, Misty seethed: "I am positive that this sucks."

Misty kicked out her red sneaker, skipping a rock down into the baggage carousel as she walked down the escalator stairs as quickly as possible, whereas Daisy was used to waiting for the machine to take her. The older woman yelped for Misty to stop, but she was determined to make haste. The airport was unbelievably bright, full of smiling faces, tears of goodbye, and then there was Misty. Burying her rage behind every possible adult lie she told herself. _This happened to everyone_. _Adults always had financial struggles. Everyone had problems with the league sometimes. Traveling with her sister, of all people!_

Daisy walked beside her again, pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"I think it's great—you are finally working as a Water Pokemon Specialist! That's a bright side, right?"

Misty walked backwards with narrowed eyes, watching her sister.

"Yes, which would be a great accomplishment, if I hadn't been the _literal_ last choice."

"Oh, who cares about that?"

"Me!" Misty threw up her arms, and spun back around. "I refused the first time, remember? But now, I have no choice but to accept these stupid..."

Misty trailed off, realizing she was partially yelling, and tried to keep her profanity low as she saw a group of children walking in front of her. She whirled around to point at Daisy, howling in a whisper.

"The _point is_! I wouldn't even be in this situation if not for you three!"

Daisy gawked, crossed her arms in disagreement and took a defensive stance, as Misty unleashed her rant once again.

"I should have been starting gym renovations today! Not meeting with narcissist Gary Oak about a project I didn't really want to do!"

Misty was borderline shouting, luckily no one around them paid any mind, but Daisy rubbed her temples at her sisters immaturity.

"Yes, well, the situation is less than ideal, but-"

Misty whirled around again. The last couple of days, she had been this level of instant crazy—refusing to listen to optimistic point of views, mostly because of the new found stress that was crushing her. Daisy hated seeing the bags under her sisters poorly-make-up covered eyes, but she also hated being scolded by her younger sister. Yet, Misty didn't stop.

"Less than ideal? Daisy we are basically losing our home in six months if we can't sort this out! We were practically _ran out_ of Cerulean City and you want me to agree that _maybe_ having a chance to find a legendary pokemon is going to make everything alright! I'll be glad if they fucking pay me-"

Misty rambled, gesturing with her hands as Daisy only partially listened to the vent, taking the time to examine her nails—noticing a broken one and finding it far more interesting than Misty's predictable anger. First she would yell about how Gary asked every other water specialist in Kanto before asking her. Then _expected_ her to take it, and she refused because of pride—but now she has to do it anyways because of their financial situation. Then, she would yell about how she had to pay for a lawyer that she didn't have the money for yet, go out on an adventure to find some legendarypokemon when she should be home, trying to sort out the mess that _Daisy put her in—_ blah, blah blah.

Daisy rolled her eyes, intent on shutting Misty down, however, when she focused her attention on the young woman, she flinched at the scene about to unfold.

"Mist-!" Daisy half-shouted as a yellow ball ran between Misty's feet, causing her to stumble, then jumped into Daisy's arms. As a result, Misty collided directly into another human, falling backwards onto the hard tile of the airport.

Misty landed with a _whop._ Smacking her head on the ground and letting out a loud groan. A few stares immediately came her way, and the sunglasses she was wearing to 'hide' herself launched across the terminal. Beside her, the man-she quickly figured out based on the flatness of his chest—groaned with equal resentment of their current situation.

Swearing in her mind alone, Misty tried to bolt for clear ground, elbowing the poor sap beneath—or was it beside?—her. Completely disoriented she finally shoved with her elbows and rolled sideways, then kicked herself up and off of the floor, hoping to Arceus that nobody recognized her.

"Ow!" Shouted the boy, not quite as fast to his feet as she was. Probably because she had completely knocked him over, then flailed about like a magikarp. Surely, some security guard somewhere was laughing at a poor quality video of the moment.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Misty grumbled insincerely.

"No, it's my fault, my pikachu took off-" As if they both caught their gaze at the same time, she immediately retracted her extended hand, and he stopped speaking.

Not a stranger at all, Ash Ketchum lifted himself up with his elbows, and blinked dark brown eyes up at her.

"Misty?"

Ash felt his pulse quicken, and his heart stop all at once.

She didn't immediately respond, actually she turned at her sister, who was holding a very red pikachu, embarrassed that he overshot and missed his real target.

Ash realized that Misty looked different, but it was her. Her sea-green eyes were the same, though not much else was. A taller, longer-haired version of his childhood best friend stared down at him in awe. She wore a yellow, half-zipped hoodie over a red tank-top of some sort, and baggy capri pants. Okay, so maybe she wasn't _completely_ different—style wise, she was the same ol' girl.

He sat up, and Misty took a step back.

"Hi, Ash." She replied robotic as pikachu pried himself away from Daisy, and jumped directly into Misty's arms, for proper pets.

Daisy huffed.

"Well, good to see you too." Daisy grunted as pikachu whined about how Daisy pet against the grain of his fur, and he didn't like it. Misty chuckled inwardly as she scratched Pikachu's ears, and Ash finally stood on his feet, and dusted off his pants.

For a moment, he spun around, confusing the Waterflower sisters, until he found the object in question—his hat, alongside Misty's discarded glasses. He plopped the tattered remains of his cap onto his head, then offered Misty her glasses—or what he assumed was her glasses.

"Thanks." she responded, trading the object for pikachu, who was not impressed with the trade off. He crawled up onto Ash's shoulders, but scowled at the lack-of-love.

"Wow, you were the last person I would have expected to see."

Misty's face fell, lips forming a flat line. "You still have a way with words." She mocked, but then shrugged it off.

Ash blinked, then reiterated his comment as pikachu slapped his paw against his face.

"I mean, that I thought you would be in Cerulean City—ah—what brings you to this part of town?" He chuckled nervously, scratching the side of his face as Misty crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes.

"Me? What about you? Weren't you in Kalos?"

"Well, yeah, but I finished the league, so I'm here to visit my mom. Apparently the quickest way to Pallet Town is through Viridian City now." said Ash, blinking a bit. "Did you see my match?"

Embarrassed, she rubbed the back of her neck, recalling the last couple of weeks and wincing.

"No...actually. I had other things to take care of."

"Well, I saw it." Daisy chimed in, knocking the tension out the door and finding a way to cut into the conversation. "You lost with type advantage! And, like, that synchro-thing that you had with Greninja should have left—oh what was his name?-in the dust!"

Misty blinked with surprise at first, then immediate anger with furrowed eyebrows. Daisy saw the match, probably while Misty was on the phone with the league, trying to sort out their damn lives!

She kept that to herself, but then watched Ash's face fall—probably as disgusted with Daisy's remarks as Misty was, but for different reasons. Daisy didn't seem to realize they were both gravely uncomfortable, or worst yet, Misty believed that her sister may not have _cared._ Uninterested in the tension, Daisy waved her hand with a pompous eye roll.

"But, I guess you like, saved the league or something—so that worked in your favor. But you could have, like handled that battle so much better..."

Ash's brows twitched as Daisy continued down a hypothetical strategy about water pokemon.

Was he being lectured by Daisy about battling? Had he fallen so low? Little did he know, Misty was thinking along the same lines, mouth ajar, staring flabbergasted at her sister who pretentiously rattled off facts as if she worked at the gym every day. Equally, they both felt _annoyed_.

"Daisy, really?" Misty questioned, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. Listen to me interrupting your reunion." She waved her hand, and grabbed Ash's arm, patting him, but then stopped at his upper-arm. "Wow, like, you've grown! The last time I saw you, you were, like, nothing but a tiny little guy."

Clearly disturbed, Ash jerked away from her grasp.

"I'm not ten anymore." He responded, believing that was the last time he spoke to the woman before him. He looked to Misty for guidance, but she seemed to also take note of his changed appearance—a subject that already made Ash uncomfortable.

His hair was longer and in serious need of a trim. The worst was hidden beneath his hat, but strands of jagged black hairs poked in every direction. His shoulders were broad, and he was taller than Misty now. Not by a lot, but enough that it was noticeable. He wore a black tee-shirt with white sleeves and an open, blue, casual blazer, and blue jeans. Gone was the pudgy baby-fat, so his square jaw was far more prominent, giving him an older look, for over all boyish features.

Misty's back straightened, she was a mess. The bags under her eyes had bags. She tried to cover up with some foundation, but had sweat most of it off during the walk to the airport. She was toned, but her height gave her a lanky appearance, her thin face didn't help her case, and her freckles marred her otherwise clear skin. He looked great— _happy_ -with his tanned skin, and toned body. Her pale skin and lack of proper-nutrition the last few weeks wasn't looking so great on her, however, and she zipped her hoodie up in discreet embarrassment.

"So..." Daisy asked, feeling the long, pregnant pause of discomfort as they both stared at one another awkwardly. "Are you two going to hug or something? Like, isn't that what old friends do?"

Mortified, they both took a step back.

"We don't _hug._ " they answered in unison.

"Arceus... it was just a suggestion." Daisy grumbled quietly, temporarily halting her fake accent to roll her eyes. Pikachu also rolled his eyes, sighing again.

"So, tell me. Will we like, be standing here for awhile passing awkward glances, or can we move forward, like, out of the airport before they start to suspect us of nefarious activities?"

Misty scrunched up her nose, but tightened her grip on her bag. "Do you even know what that word _means_."

Daisy growled slightly under her breath and then shoved both Ash and Misty hard to get them walking in the direction of the exit they were both so eager to get to.

"What are you—doing?" Misty groaned as she tried to get away from Daisy jabbing her in the back.

"Well unless either of you, like, plan on getting back on a plane, we should leave."

"Yeah—but—we—have—things-to—do!" Misty stumbled and stammered on her words as she was pushed through the front door, the sun's glaring heat enveloped the trio, with Misty holding her hand up to cover her eyes, rather than putting her sunglasses on, which had slipped her mind temporarily.

As disgruntled as Misty, Ash backed away from the sisters once they were outside, and took in the outdoors calmly.

"Yeah, yeah, Gary can wait— besides, he's supposed to like, meet us here, isn't he?"

Ash brushed off his shoulders, keeping a fair distance from Daisy, having learned his lesson.

"Gary? Why are you two meeting with Gary?"

"Well that's-" Misty started, prepared to give Ash a piece of her mind for butting into her personal business, but Daisy beat her to the punch line.

"Oh, you know, we're helping him find a legendary pokemon." Daisy bat her large, blue eyes at Ash and clapped her hands at him. "Say, aren't you like a famous legendary pokemon magnet?"

Misty stomped her sister's toe, watching in enjoyment as she reeled backwards, lifting her foot and biting down on her lip while Misty waved her off.

"Don't listen to her. She always talks nonsense."

At this point, Ash's brows furrowed in confusion, and he crossed his arms.

"You're not trying to find a legendary pokemon?"

"Well," Misty fumbled over her words. "I mean, technically. We're unsure about the legendary part."

Smacking his lips, Ash asked: "...then you're not helping Gary."

Misty rolled over the idea, wincing internally. "Well... sort of, but you know, not really?"

Flabbergasted, Ash shook his head. "So you are helping Gary?"

"I don't really see how it's any of your business." Misty bit back with a snarl. Ash was taken aback. They reached a temporary stalemate before Daisy returned to the conversation muttering under her breath about violence and temper tantrums.

"I guess it isn't." Ash backed down, then directed his next question at Daisy. "You're _also_ helping Gary?"

"Yeah, a little project."

"But don't you run the Cerulean City gym-?" Ash gestured to Misty, having found a way around her temper, "I mean, Misty runs the gym? How are you going to find the time?"

Daisy opened her mouth to answer, but Misty interjected by waving her arms in front of her sister.

"Asking her doesn't make it any more of your business!"

Maybe, at first, he thought she was joking around before, because honest hurt crossed his features. Ash was stubborn, and painfully curious.

"Why does it matter if I know?"

"It just does!" Snapping, Misty threw up her arms. Then realizing Ash wouldn't let it go until she gave some sort of an answer, she groaned:

"It's a freelance project... I took some time off and Gary needed help. Let's just leave it at that."

Still concerned, or confused why it mattered so much in the first place, Ash shrugged.

"...Okay."

His immediate agreement released a huff of relief from the redhead, who was far too worked up about the situation. Daisy rubbed her arm where Misty punched her prior, finally understanding now, that Misty didn't want Ash to know about their current situation. For whatever reason. Honestly, Daisy would never understand her baby sister.

After a long pause and shuffling feet, Misty finally spoke.

"I thought you would already be out on another adventure, anyways?"

"Yeah, well..." Now Ash shifted in another direction, reaching a topic he wasn't keen on discussing. He answered with a shrug. He was far easier to read than Misty was. Right away, she knew that being runner-up had taken its toll on him, but Ash was bullheaded, and would never admit it, despite the gloom hanging over his head.

Typically, she might have asked him how he was doing. Right now, her plate was overfilling with her own problems, and the sooner they wrapped this up, the sooner she could continue forward. It would be her luck that she would stumble into Ash Ketchum, of all people!

"I decided to stop in and see my mom, you know, visit some old pokemon before leaving again."

"Ahh..." Misty nodded, then smacked her lips and stuck out a hand to pat Ash, only to stop short, and pat Pikachu instead.

"Well, it really was good to see you again, but I should get going; Gary is probably waiting and you should go see your mom."

Ash danced around a bit, then nodded. "Yeah, you too."

"Is that Ash _fricking_ Ketchum? As I _live_ and breathe!?"

Under her breath, Misty swore.

Misty slowly faced the familiar, boisterous voice that echoed down the small path leading to the airport entrance, to see Gary Oak, in all of his glory. Sporting a tight, black v-neck shirt with a popped collar and purple pants, he swayed down the path while flicking up his dark sun glasses. His boots were studded with metal—some sort of fashion statement Misty wasn't sure of, as he strolled with grace to meet Ash, Misty, and Daisy.

"...chuu.." Pikachu grunted, speaking exactly what Misty was thinking.

"Gary!" Ash waved happily, a wide grin spreading over his face.

Gary flipped his gravity defying auburn hair and crossed his arms with a smug look.

"What in the world are you doing here? The league just wrapped up, didn't it?" He snorted. "It's a shame they don't give out awards for saving the league, right?"

Ash's smile faded, recalling the medal he was given. "Well, they sort of did this time..."

Gary brushed off his comment, sliding forward without even acknowledging the Waterflower sisters, to drape an arm around Ash's shoulders. Gary still had a bit of a height advantage on the slightly younger trainer, who was a bit unsure of Gary's actions.

"Not the point! When are you going to win, man?" He pat Ash on the head, and rubbed his hat into his scalp. Ash brushed Gary away, embarrassed that he could still be harassed in such a way, despite their older ages. Ash took a few defensive steps away, but Gary had already moved into a mocking position, stroking his non-existent beard.

"And you even had the type advantage."

Ash typically wasn't an angry person, but Misty could summarize his demented expression as hostile, and ready to blow. First Daisy, and now Gary. Talk about kicking him while he was down.

"Yeah, well Alain was a great battler." Not to mention, hadn't Gary lost with the type advantage before? Ash certainly didn't bring that up!

Gary nodded his agreement, then grinned with a bit of a laugh. Clearly he was joking.

"Yeah he was. No shame in losing. You did great, all things considered!" Gary clapped Ash on the back, and then all the hostility was gone again.

"Honestly, I think the match was rigged—The news said that Team Flare may have infiltrated it. Do you think that was true?"

"Well... even if it was, I still lost."

"Psh." Gary clicked his tongue. "You gotta learn to be more assertive. Gramps was on the edge of his seat the entire time, swore that you were cheated. I swear if he ever watched my battles like that, I might have actually kept along that route."

Despite the back-handed comment, Ash smiled.

"Well, Greninja and I did our best."

"You'll get 'em next time." Gary slapped Ash roughly on the shoulder, like he didn't really think that Ash's next attempt would be anymore successful. As Ash rubbed the sore spot, Gary directed his attention at Misty who was staring off into the distance somewhere, and Daisy who was watching both of the boys intently.

"Did you two have a good visit, because I've been waiting a half an hour for the two of you. We've missed our departure and now we have to walk."

"Walk?" Daisy echoed in concern. Misty huffed.

"You never said when we had to meet you." She scoffed in her defense, heat rising to her face. If this was the tone Gary was going to use the entire length of the project, Misty might actually throw him off a cliff.

"I thought it was pretty clear..."

Misty was about to reply when Ash cut in: "Where are you guys going?"

Gary wagged his finger, making a 'tsk' noise.

"Can't tell ya' that, Ketchum. It's top secret."

"Well Daisy already told me it's about a legendary pokemon..."

Gary stared vehemently at Daisy for a second, then brought back the cocky-persona when facing Ash.

"Yes, we're looking for a new pokemon that _I_ may have discovered."

"That doesn't mean it's legendary."

"Doesn't mean that it's not. Do you think you're the only one that can find legendary pokemon?" Gary bat his eyes with challenge.

"That's...that's not what I meant."

"Listen, I know you're some kind of adventure magnet, but there have been hundreds of successful researchers that didn't have your luck—and could probably win a league or two-"

Misty hadn't paid attention to the conversation, wrapped in her own mind, but she wasn't so distracted that she would let that comment slide. Whether or not Ash needed to be defended still or not, she refused to let that fly. Without hesitation, Misty shoved Gary and brought her hand up to his face, pointing a finger.

"Let's get something clear right _now,_ Oak." She seethed. "You knock off this fuck-boy persona or I'll knock you into the next century."

Gary put up his hands. "I was just joking anyways."

"Learn a less hurtful way to joke." Misty snapped then glanced back at Ash, the anger dwindling in her eyes. Funny enough, he didn't react to Gary's comments, clearly the jab didn't effect him at all. Either he matured quite a bit, or was numb to the failure. Misty felt sorry for him.

"Well, he's not wrong." Ash answered, his eyes dull, and pikachu tilting his head down.

"A.." She started but Gary interrupted again.

"We should really get going." Gary interjected, gesturing to Daisy who was still in shock about the walk ahead of them. "Before the older sister faints."

Misty blinked the worry from her eyes and nodded in agreement. "Oh, right." Then she snorted and rolled her eyes.

"You're going to be fine, Daisy."

"I don't think I wore the best shoes for walking." Daisy replied ghostly, and Misty rubbed her temples. Already, she knew this was going to be a long walk.

Eventually, they looked back at Ash who pursed his lips, knowing that he wasn't wanted in the little group.

"Have fun, I guess?" he smiled, though it was clearly forced.

"Yeah, and tell Delia I said hi, would ya'?" Gary asked, then tossed a wave over his shoulder. "Smell ya' later!"

"I hate it when he does that." Ash seethed knowing that Misty hung back while the other two moved on. Quickly, she smiled at him with sympathy, then without really thinking about it, she hugged him. Against her better judgment. After all, she couldn't offer an ear to listen, and she couldn't offer her time to help—so a hug would have to suffice, despite their past differences.

"You'll manage." Her breath brushed against his neck and hairs, and Ash was so stunned that her arms squeezed him so firmly, that he forgot to return the affection.

"Don't do anything stupid. Sorry it's so... _" Awkward_. Misty shrugged as she pulled away, and said: "We'll talk again soon."

Ash gnawed on the inside of his cheek, nodding as she backed away with the tiniest bit of a wave.

"Yeah, see you later."

Pikachu shouted after her once again, and she waved over her shoulder as Ash felt the cold embrace of confusion swallow him up once more, and his shoulders slumped. Even Misty knew what she was doing.

Was he the only person his age with no idea what was going on?

 **XOX**

The ride home was uncomfortable for a number of reasons.

First was that Ash couldn't get his mind off how strange his visit with Misty was. Second was because he was sitting in the bumpy, cramped seat of a train car while tossing a rubber ball at the wall and catching it as pikachu slept beside him, so he had no one to talk to. Third, was that the situation was all wrong, and even Ash knew that.

Misty was practically _in love_ with her gym, if he remembered correctly. Plus, last he checked, she and Gary only had a professional relationship, and Misty wasn't quite a specialist trained enough to offer input, was she? It wasn't Ash's business, as Misty so blatantly put it, but it was better to think about her problems, than his own right now.

He had so many thoughts running through his head in the last few days, he was honestly surprised that his brain hadn't exploded yet. Especially since deep thought wasn't his strong suit.

Ash scratched his head, caught the ball, then threw it again. Calming thumps echoed in the room around him, distracting him from the sound of the speeding train. Then again, Ash was probably thinking too much about it, because the encounter could have been awkward for...a number of _different_ reasons. For all he knew, she could have been normal, and it was he, who was acting strange. After his goodbye with Serena—he shuddered—he felt embarrassed, a little light-headed, and not himself. He hadn't expected a— _a-_.

 _He couldn't say it._ The blush that rose to his cheeks screwed up his concentration, and the ball came back and hit him in the face. Covering his expression with the palms of his hands, he let out a frustrated sigh and groaned painfully.

 _It was probably just him._

Especially since his last encounter with Misty wasn't the...best. His shoulders slumped and his elbows hit his knees as he practically folded in half. _It was just him_. It had to be him. Daisy and Misty were more than helpful, and he must have imagined the tension—after all, he was the only one immature enough to be bothered by these feelings! Normal people could move on easily, he was sure! Maybe he should have asked Misty for advice? Though, he had no right to. Actually, he was surprised she talked to him at all, given their last... Ash huffed. He's matured _so much,_ he couldn't even think of it.

At least then they could have cleared the air. But not in front of Daisy, he clammed up in front of Daisy, he wasn't very good at talking about past mistakes to begin with—and besides Misty looked well, despite the bags under her eyes and clear stress from whatever was going on, he had no reason to think she was still upset about a stupid letter he replied to when he was fourteen!

Ash slapped his face then inhaled, forcing his eyes to look out the window. Ash hadn't thought about it in years, more than likely, neither had she. He was over reacting, he was the one being weird.

Ash hated that he made it weird... and then he was right back to square one, and started throwing the ball again. This is why he didn't think a lot, it was only when he was alone that his mind plagued him with questions: what now?

On the plane back from Kalos, he practiced for this. He was going to pretend like nothing happened, that he was as confident as he usually was, and keep pressing on so no one would worry. After all, he had to. A pokemon master had no time to sit still, and he definitely couldn't distract himself with social problems. So long as his friends were following their dreams, it didn't matter how they achieved them. He would support them!

Ash was happy for Misty! Getting outside of the gym for a while would probably be good for her! After all, he could never understand how she managed to stay in a stuffy place for so long.

 **XOX**

The train stopped in Pallet town, letting out a loud announcement, reminding Ash that this was his stop. Shaking pikachu awake, Ash marched out of the train car, with new, partially forced determination and a smile on his face.

 _He would never show weakness! He would never give up_!

After all, it wasn't _really_ giving up, if he didn't know where he was going, right?

As his small town came into view, his mind plagued with thoughts, a light cleared the area, and the subtle air and chirping birds of the Pallet Town fields brought his attention to the simplicity of life, and how much he appreciated the small aspects. What did he have to worry about? He would win the next time, for sure!

Together, he and pikachu ran down the hill from the train station, and through the familiar winding roads, until stopping at a tiny, off-pink house, huffing. Heart racing, Ash adjusted the brim of his hat, and stroked pikachu's fur, confidently walking forward.

"Chu, pika pika!" The mouse mused, commenting on the food that Delia would surely cook for them. The clean house, a warm bed. Ash could relax for at least a _few_ days here! Nothing to worry about!

A creak echoed when the familiar doorknob twisted, then veered open to reveal the inside of a pristine house... that wasn't pristine at all, and was practically swallowed in dust. Clanking echoed from the kitchen, and the sight of the usually clean house in disarray sent worry down Ash's spine.

"...Mom?" Ash called, kicking away a set of old shoes and pants from the door.

From the kitchen, Delia's head immediately popped out, startling her son. Her face was marred with flour and her hair was knotted back in a tight ponytail, protected by a hairnet. She wore a fluffy white apron, and a pair of blue jeans and pink tee-shirt.

"Ash! Welcome back!" She pursed her lips as a kiss, but did not come forward. "Come into the kitchen, I'm baking."

"I can see that." Ash gathered together some of the forgotten items from the floor, and stuffed them into a corner as he walked the short distance against hard wood floors to the white-tiled kitchen...which was worse than the entrance hall. Flour decorated the walls and the ceilings, she ran the blender so often, red and blue frosting splattered the cupboards and counter tops while pots and pans and at least a dozen cookie sheets were scattered across the kitchen—not to mention a stack of cookies nearly as tall as pikachu.

The mouse let our a reasonably concerned 'cha' that Ash followed by tapping his fingers together and looking worriedly at his fast-moving mother, who was crazily stirring another batch of cookies.

"...Mom... Are you planning on feeding the homeless again?" he looked over the small boxes the woman prepared with bows, then retracted that statement. "...but... the homeless in every city, not just Pallet Town?"  
Delia immediately set down her spoon, and looked to Ash with soft eyes. Her lip quivered, and she shook her head.

"I just didn't know what else to do." Sliding her hairnet off, she huffed loudly. The tall woman's shoulders drooped and Ash gave her a side-ways glance.

"...err, about what?" He asked, grabbing a napkin and wiping her face of flour. She followed his hand, grasping the napkin gently, then finished dabbing her face clean as they took a seat.

"Well, you know, about her. It's terrible what has happened."

Again, Ash's eyes deceived him, he grimaced a bit. His mind, and pikachu, immediately betrayed, thinking of a little blonde girl he recently parted ways with. But it seemed ridiculous that Delia would know about that! Sweat dripped down Ash's neck as he cleared his throat.

"...Who?"

Delia rolled her eyes in that disapproving motherly way and sighed as she spoke: "You know who, Ash. We can't ignore what's happened." She brushed her auburn hair from her face, and cradled her eyes. "It all just happened to fast.. and then your match... Oh, I missed it... what a way to end the pokemon season."

Ash's lips fell into a straight line, and his back straightened. Paranoia crept in, trying to remind himself that it was impossible—there weren't many witnesses. Himself, pikachu, Clemont, Bonnie—and well, _Serena_ of course, but surely they wouldn't have told his mother!

"Uhm... Yeah, but I mean, what am I supposed to do about it?" He asked, trying to play it safe before completely blowing his cover. He still had plausible deniability, after all.

"I don't know! I started making all of these cookies to sell because I want to help—I've already sold over eight dozen trying to raise money!"

Pale-faced, Ash sucked in his lips, then released. _Trying to raise money for what?_ Maybe he was too quick to think that Delia was speaking about Serena. He thought about it for a very long time before finally asking.

"...uhm... Mom... What are you talking about?"

"You... you mean you don't know?"

Now, worry grated into his chest. "No, what happened?"

Delia dabbed her eyes with the dry section of the napkin, then rifled through a few papers on the table as she explain: "It's Misty, you know..."

She sniffled, her breaking tone froze Ash to the bone. So... Misty was acting strange for a reason. Baffled, Ash titled his head worriedly in unison with pikachu as Delia revealed the buried newspaper.

Ash read the headline, suddenly feeling like a complete basket case as his mouth fell open.

 **XOX**

Fires. Misty missed _fires_.

Burning old, dry wood on a trail leading to nowhere, out in the open, enjoying the stars above, listening to Daisy bitch about her hair knotting up in the brush that she was using, and Gary groaning about the blonde being 'too noisy' as he walked a path away from them into the bordering darkness. All the while Misty stared quietly into the fire, believing it could understand the depths of her soul. _Just like the good ol' days._

Their technical first night on the road, and Misty was already wondering how she ended up here, in this moment, trying to relax, even when every nerve in her body felt like a twisted mess of poison ivy and thorns. Gary promised that he would inform them about the details of the research project when they reached the town boarding route eight, which they were supposed to reach tonight, but thanks to Daisy's 'beauty sleep' they were forced to stop prematurely, and set up camp. Rather, _Misty_ set up camp, because Gary couldn't be bothered, and Daisy was useless with a set of tarps and sticks.

Misty planned on sleeping under the stars, enjoying the nature around her while she could still enjoy it, before everything was taken away from her.

Not long ago, the Cerulean Gym Leader believed that everything happened for a reason, but in lieu of the recent events, she was now believing that sometimes, life kicks a girl when they're down. Kicks them about 500,000 dollars in debt, begins an investigation without warning, and then threatens to put them in jail if the fee isn't paid within the time limit. All bad events, all associated with Misty, the frugal, money saving, holiday-skipping, hardworking, young pokemon trainer; whose only flaw was trying to become a better pokemon trainer until just under a week ago.

At first, she thought the accusations were a scam, and refused to answer the letters until the Pokemon League showed up at her door, and closed the gym. They handcuffed her, and took her down to a police station to hear her reasoning why she wouldn't show up to court about the accusations, then laughed when she said that she thought they were joking.

After all, how could Misty Waterflower spend 500,000 dollars of League grants outside of the gym. She was constantly running renovations, most of which she did herself to _avoid_ using League grants, and yet...

 _It appears the money was transferred out of your account on regular intervals, after approved grace periods. Can you explain that_?

No. Of course she couldn't explain it. She didn't know. Were her sisters, bless their hearts, still taking a portion of the money that the Pokemon League paid Misty? Whether or not it was an honest mistake or not, she was liable to pay back the money. Not her sisters, _her_ , who was the primary leader of the Cerulean City gym, and therefore responsible for the use of its funds.

 _We will take your job, your title... the gym, and if you're unlucky in court, you could spend up to ten years in prison for laundering money. You still want to insist that we have made a mistake?_

Misty held her breath and closed her eyes. The heat of the fire reminded her of the hot tears she wept that day, trying to understand what was happening.

 _Yes. You had to have made a mistake!_

 _Then prove it. If a mistake has been made, there should be evidence._

They held her in handcuffs, broke her spirit, and listened to her cry when she asked: _Please, is there anything I can do?_

 _Get yourself a good lawyer, and pay back the money you owe in the time frame required_.

Of course, when she agreed to those terms, she hadn't realized that the public would scrutinize her, and that the time frame was a measly six months of probation. In less than ten days, her life flipped upside down; and she was looking at the next ten years behind bars for an action she didn't commit.

Holding onto her necklace, she forced down the tears with a shaky breath. She stared bitterly into the fire now, then crawled into her sleeping bag without saying goodnight. Her head hurt. Her heart hurt.

Daisy, Lily, and Violet, of course, denied the claims—which made Misty believe it was a mistake, if not an accident. Each of them were trying in their own way to improve the situation, but it didn't excuse the event from existence. The league provided hard facts, time stamps, but were generous enough to offer Misty the chance to repay, and she jumped on it: both as a last ditch effort, and as one last hurrah, just in case she spent the next ten years in jail.

The media was the worst, never believing that spotless Waterflower would steal from the pokemon league. People called her a crooked—she couldn't stay in Cerulean City. People didn't look at her the same, and she couldn't take it.

Lucky for her, Gary's offer, that she originally shot down, was still up for grabs, and she jumped on the second chance. Thankfully, the pokemon researcher didn't bring up the fiasco too much, because Misty was a little embarrassed to say the least. If it were up to her, she didn't want anyone to know, but her face, as well as other gym leaders were the poster children for 'rotten behavior'.

At first, all of her friends tried to help, and perhaps she shouldn't have cut them off from their offers but.. this was something she had to do on her own. Regain some of her lost honor, or live out the last few months of freedom that she had, without the scrutiny of other peoples opinions.

 _Jeeze_ , _look at me..._ Mistysniveled sadly keeping her tone down so no one would hear her. _It's like I've already given up_...

Clearly, she would never give up. Otherwise, she wouldn't be out on an _adventure_ with Gary and her sister, trying to collect the missing puzzle pieces. Misty also had a plan: enter tournaments to win prize money, battle as many trainers as possible and find success in locating this legendary pokemon.

One way or another, she was going to get out of this situation. It may take some time but... _she could do this_.

It wasn't like there was any pressure, or anything.

 **Author's Note: (edited 08-13-2018)**

Truthfully, I didn't change a lot about the first chapter, just the time-frame everything happened in. I took stuff from Chapter 2, and combined it into chapter 1 to create a lighthearted decent into darkness.

I needed to change the story in order to continue it, and I figured if I was going to be editing the chapters after 5, I should edit the first, and the rest. That's why there is suddenly only one chapter again (SORRY D:)

I originally started this story a few weeks after coming up with the idea of Spitfire, and I posted it a year later as sort of a celebration for writing for an entire year—however, if I kept it as it was, continuing the story in 2018 was going to be like pulling teeth. My writing has changed a bit, so I would rather it read like a smooth (poorly written) fic, than one where the flow changes every chapter.

I'm still alive.

NINT


End file.
